The Heraion of Samos was a large sanctuary to the goddess Hera, on the island of Samos, Greece, 6 km southwest of the ancient city of Samos (modern Pythagoreion). It was located in the low, marshy basin of the Imbrasos river, near where it enters the sea. The late Archaic temple in the sanctuary was the first of the gigantic free-standing Ionic temples, but its predecessors at this site reached back to the Geometric Period of the 8th century BC, or earlier, and there is evidence of cult activities on the site from c. 1700 BC onwards. The ruins of the temple, along with the nearby archeological site of Pythagoreion, were designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1992, as a testimony to their exceptional architecture and to the mercantile and naval power of Samos during the Archaic Period.
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Heraion of Samos in the context of Samos
Samos (/ˈseɪmɒs/, also US: /ˈsæmoʊs, ˈsɑːmɔːs/; Greek: Σάμος, romanized: Sámos, Greek pronunciation: [ˈsa.mos]) is a Greek island in the eastern Aegean Sea, south of Chios, north of Patmos and the Dodecanese archipelago, and off the coast of western Turkey, from which it is separated by the 1.6-kilometre-wide (1.0 mi) Mycale Strait. It is also a separate regional unit of the North Aegean region.
In ancient times, Samos was an especially rich and powerful city-state, particularly known for its vineyards and wine production. It is home to Pythagoreion and the Heraion of Samos, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that includes the Eupalinian aqueduct, a marvel of ancient engineering. Samos is the birthplace of the Greek philosopher and mathematician Pythagoras, after whom the Pythagorean theorem is named, the philosophers Melissus of Samos and Epicurus, and the astronomer Aristarchus of Samos, the first known individual to propose that the Earth revolves around the Sun. Samian wine was well known in antiquity and is still produced on the island.
Heraion of Samos in the context of Pythagoreion
The Pythagoreion is the archaeological site of the ancient town of Samos in Samos, Greece. It is located in the area of the modern town of Pythagoreio, from which it got its modern name. The archaeological site contains ancient Greek and Roman monuments and a famous ancient tunnel, the Tunnel of Eupalinos or Eupalinian aqueduct. Along with the Heraion of Samos, the Pythagoreion was registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992 because of its testimony to the cultural, military, and economic importance of Samos during Archaic and early Classical Greece.
Heraion of Samos in the context of Eupalinian aqueduct
The Tunnel of Eupalinos or Eupalinian aqueduct (Greek: Ευπαλίνιον όρυγμα, romanized: Efpalinion orygma) is a tunnel of 1,036 m (3,399 ft) length running through Mount Kastro in Samos, Greece, built in the 6th century BC to serve as an aqueduct. The tunnel is the second known tunnel in history which was excavated from both ends (Ancient Greek: ἀμφίστομον, romanized: amphistomon, "having two openings"), and the first with a geometry-based approach in doing so. Today it is a popular tourist attraction. The tunnel is inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List along with the nearby Pythagoreion and Heraion of Samos, and it was designated as an International Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 2017.
Heraion of Samos in the context of Pythagoreio
Pythagoreio (Greek: Πυθαγόρειο) is a town and municipal unit on the island of Samos, North Aegean, Greece. Before the 2011 local government reform, Pythagoreio was a municipality. Since 2019, it is a municipal unit of East Samos. In 2021, the town's population was 7,515. It is the largest municipal unit in land area on Samos, at 164.662 km (63.576 sq mi). It shares the island with the municipal units of Vathy, Karlovasi, and Marathokampos. The archaeological remains in the town, known collectively as Pythagoreion, has designated a joint UNESCO World Heritage Site with nearby Heraion.
The seat of the municipality was the town of Pythagorio, formerly known as Tigani. The town was renamed in 1955 to honour the locally born mathematician and philosopher Pythagoras. The port of the town is considered to be the oldest man-made port of the Mediterranean Sea.
Heraion of Samos in the context of Imbrasos
Imbrasos (Ancient Greek: Ἴμβρασος, Greek: Ίμβρασος Imvrasos), is a river on the Greek island of Samos. The source of the river is located on mount Ambelos, near the village of Pyrgos. From there it flows southeast to Myli and then enters the sea on the south side of the island at Ireo. In ancient times, it had the epithet Parthenios ('of the maiden'), because the goddess Hera was said to have been born on its bank under a lygos tree. The site became the Heraion, which was the main ancient sanctuary on the island.
The river god Imbrasos was often depicted on Samian coinage, sometimes holding a peacock. In mythology, his wife was the nymph Chesias. Their daughter, Ocyrhoë, was loved by Apollo.